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The 10 Best Brand Activations at Music Festivals

Posted by, Marco Rios on September 13, 2017

The 10 Best Brand Activations at Music Festivals

Brand activations at music festivals are a great way for your sponsors to build a genuine connection with your audience. In fact, studies have shown that millennial fans perceive brands as more authentic and trustworthy when they sponsor a music festival, and are more likely to purchase and recommend a product.

But how can you help your sponsors create an experience fans love — and them the most value from their investment?

New data on festival attendees reveals how brands can best engage your most valuable fans. These “hardcore festies” make up 20% of festival attendees, but typically spend 78% more on tickets than casual fans. They’re also extremely valuable to your sponsors: hardcore festies earn more than $75k, and are less price-sensitive than casual fans. And, as millennials, studies show they have a 37% better perception of a company after interacting with their brand at a music festival.

Luckily, hardcore fans aren’t hard to engage: 82% of them embrace company and brand activations at music festivals. But that doesn’t mean they’re easy to impress. Use this infographic to help your sponsors wow your most valuable fans.

The top 10 brand activations at music festivals

The best way for sponsors to engage your valuable fans? Create the activations they like most. Here are their top 10 favorite brand activations at music festivals:

How to design brand activations that leave an impression

Encourage your sponsors to get creative, but keep in mind what the most passionate members of your audience will interact with. Participatory experiences like a lounge or photo booth are popular, but considering that hardcore fans are more interested in simple activations like WiFi access — are they worth your time and effort?

The most successful brand activations at festivals appeal to fans’ base needs. Consider a modern version of Maslow’s pyramid, with WiFi and cell phones joining food and drink as base needs. While these desires may be straightforward, sponsors can use them to build a memorable brand interaction with fans.

Unsurprisingly, everyone loves freebies. While sponsor-branded merchandise isn’t as popular, festival and artist merch are. So if your sponsor is attached to their logo, encourage them to include it alongside the festival or artist on merchandise.

While sweepstakes may be a great way for sponsors to collect fan information, only 32% of fans want to engage with them. Explore alternative ways to collect names, like a “VIP” relaxation area that requires sign-up to enter. Instead of email, consider a freebie giveaway that relies on social media posts. 81% of hardcore festies are active on social media during festivals, so social engagement may be more achievable.